As they got closer, I realized I was going to have to do something drastic. I aimed the gun at the ground and fired. One of the men cried out and leapt into the air before turning heel and running. Oddly, the other man kept advancing on me, grinning.
“Hey, fucko,” I called. “Fuckin’ stop it! Get the hell away from here! Don’t you fuckin’ recognize me?”
The man grinned as he got closer. “Oh, I do,” he said casually. He pulled out a badge. “I’m Officer Banks, undercover.”
Shit.
“Nice talking to you,” I called, putting the safety on and slipping the gun in my pocket. But that fucker, Banks, kept walking towards me holding his badge and his gun.
“Don’t think you’re getting away with this,” Banks sneered. He smirked as he pulled his cuffs out of his pocket and waved them in the air. “I’m fuckin’ takin’ you downtown.”
As Banks grabbed my hands and twisted them together behind my back, I cried out.
“Don’t you know who I am?” I screamed. “I’m above this! You can’t fuckin’ arrest me! I haven’t done anything!”
Banks sneered as he reached into my pocket and pulled out my gun.
“Funny,” he said sarcastically. “Looks like the serial number’s been carved right off this. Isn’t that interesting?”
“I don’t know where that came from!” I said hotly. “Leave me the fuck alone!”
Banks sneered in disgust. He reached into my other pocket and pulled out the small baggie of cocaine I’d been planning on celebrating with later that night.
“What’s this? Drugs?” Banks got in my face. “Sometimes, it’s funny how powerless we all are,” he said. “I’m taking you downtown.”
I screamed until I was blue in the face, but that didn’t stop that asshole Banks from grabbing me and wrestling me into the backseat of his cruiser like I was some common thug.
The whole ride downtown, I was seething with anger. My triumph over Douglas seemed forgotten – now, I had bigger fucking issues to deal with. I couldn’t believe I’d been stupid enough to carry the coke and the gun around with me. What the fuck was my fucking problem?
“Yeah, you were pretty stupid,” Banks said with a snicker as he turned around and glared at me through the bars. “You actually thought you’d be able to get away with this. What a fucking joke.”
“Fuck you,” I mumbled, slumping down in the seat. The cuffs were digging into my wrists and my arms were numb at the shoulders, but I didn’t feel like fighting.
By the time Banks had me in a holding cell, I was spitting mad. I paced for what felt like hours – despite repeated requests, I wasn’t given my phone call until the break of dawn. By then, I was so mad that I was ready to refuse anything. But I knew that would be stupid and hotheaded – I had to take advantage of what little was given to me, and that included calling the Amoruso family lawyer, Monty Giaradella.
Monty showed up looking tacky as hell in a shiny sharkskin suit and a hat too small for his bulky head. He lowered himself into the stained plastic chair across from me and pulled out a file.
“The fuck kind of greeting is that,” I snapped. “I’m the fucking head of the family!”
Monty looked up at me with tired eyes. His face was deeply lined from years of defending my family, and I knew he must be exhausted. Still, I couldn’t recall any compassion to hand. All I could think about was how angry I felt – how stupid it was that I was sitting in this cell. Didn’t New York know who I was? Didn’t they know how important I am?
“Look, Alessio, you gotta chill the fuck out,” Monty said. He yawned, rubbing his eyes with tired fists. “I can’t come in here and bail you out just because you decided to put yourself in the middle of a fight.”
“That asshole was undercover!” I snapped. “How the fuck was I supposed to know that I was dealing with a cop, huh? How the fuck was I supposed to get that right off the bat?”
“Keep your goddamned mouth shut,” Monty hissed. He pulled out a folder and opened it, glancing down. “You’re looking at a hefty fucking fine, Alessio. You gotta start behaving.”
I glared, leaning back in my chair and crossing my arms over my muscular chest. “Fuck that,” I snapped. “Like I’m going to fucking keep my head down! I’m the goddamned head of the Amoruso family!”
“No one cares about that in here,” Monty said. He sounded exhausted. “Just listen to me and you’ll be fine.”
“I want out!” I yelled, jumping out of my chair and walking over to the bars. Grabbing them in my hands, I peered out and tried to look down the hall to the police station.
“Alessio!” Monty snapped. “Get the fuck over here!”
“Fuck you!” I snapped right back. “You don’t get to tell me what to do!”
“Alessio, I swear to god,” Monty mumbled under his breath. “You ain’t never getting out of this jail unless you learn a little humility.”